Earth Days 2014 at Salem State

Representatives from state and federal government, environmental organizations, activist groups and more will attend. Students should come to network with environmental professionals, to investigate summer and academic year internships, and learn about potential jobs.

Faculty coordinator for this event: Prof. Jennifer Jackman, Political Science

The Earth Day Student Poster Competition is the only judged poster competition on campus and features cash awards to the top ten percent of submitted posters. Any class at 200-level or higher is able to submit posters on the Earth Days Week theme. Approximately 100 research posters, submitted by SSU students in many disciplines, will be judged in the morning. Visitors are encouraged to view the posters and speak with the students who created them during the competition phase and until 12:20pm.
Faculty coordinator for poster competition: Professor Kitanov, Philosophy

Panelists:  SSU Administrator (TBA); Barbara Ikalainen (Green Initiatives Coordinator, North Shore Community College), and Kevin Bergeron, AIA, LEED-AP (Senior Associate, William Rawn Assoc., Architects, Inc.)

Organized by Professor S. Young and the Sustainability Task Force. 

Heavy hitters in the corporate world have become bastions of environmental responsibility—or have they? Simply identifying yourself as green doesn’t make it so. This film investigates the world of self-styled green marketing. 
Organized by Professors Peter Oehlkers and Peg Dillon.  Sponsored by Department of Communications.

The debate over the future new gas plant in Salem:  Why environmentalists, local and national, are opposed to its construction.  The speakers will present a short film and description of all of the negative impacts of the proposed Footprint power plant.
Sponsored by HealthLink. Refreshments provided.

[carpooling will be available from the North Campus tennis courts beginning at 9:45am and 1:45pm] Participants in the Cat Cove tour will observe aquatic organisms being produced and grown for restoration, enhancement, and commercial initiatives. A brief history of the facility and how it has evolved will be provided. Projects from Cape Ann to Cape Cod will be discussed and linked to securing a safe and dependable supply of high quality seafood (whether from the ocean or freshwater; such as largemouth bass being grown in cranberry bogs). Tours will be led by Drs. Mark Fregeau and/or Joe Buttner, with assistance provided by Hatchery Manager Scott Weston and student workers.

Narrated by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep, the film chronicles the history of the environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change. 

Professionals in the environmental field share their career paths and job search strategies.  Organized by SSU Career Services and Kaitlin Hurley.  Refreshments will be provided.

Download the flyer (pdf)

Sponsored by Salem State University Career Services

Social hour with refreshments and live music

Introductions & Opening Remarks

Announcement of student Poster Competition winners

Presentation of "Friend of the Earth" Award:

• Larry Chretien, Executive Director, Energy Consumers Alliance of New England

• Dr. Gerard Bertrand, Advisor, Permian Global, co-author of the Endangered Species Act,former President of Massachusetts Audubon

Closing Remarks and thanks to all

See a list of past Friend of the Earth Award recipients (pdf)

Press coverage of the 2011 Friend of the Earth Awards. Also see past press coverage: Earth Days 2008, 2006

Speaker: Dr. Paul Kirshen, Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.

Sponsored by Darwin Festival, Geography Department, and Geographic Society.

Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a killer whale that killed several people while in captivity in SeaWorld.  The documentary explores the creature's extraordinary nature, the species' cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion dollar sea-park industry.

Organized by Professors Jayashree Ranga and Mustafa Yatin
Organized by Professors Ranga and Yatin. Sponsored by Chemistry & Physics Dept. and Chemistry Club. Pizza provided.

This documentary film “reveals the true social and environmental costs of coal power and explores the murky realities of ‘clean coal’ technology.  The film offers a review of renewable alternatives in an age of climate change.’  Organized by the Earth Day Planning Committee.

This American documentary film exposes the effects of plastic bags and other plastic consumer merchandise on our land ecosystems, our ocean environments, and the human body.  Organized by Professor R. Fisher. Sponsored by the BioSociety.

Financial Support for Earth Days Generously Provided By the following:

• Tefferteller Foundation
• Chartwells of Salem State University
• Hayden-MacNeal Publishers
• Pearson Publishers
• Salem State University School of Graduate Studies
• Salem State University College of Arts and Sciences
• Salem State University College of Health and Human Services
• Salem State University Student Government Association